MagLab researcher Zhehong Gan has been named 2025 recipient of the Gunther Laukien prize for groundbreaking research in nuclear magnetic resonance.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising porous materials for CO2 adsorption due to their high surface area, tunable properties, and selective adsorption capabilities. The recently reported Calgary Framework 20 (CALF-20) MOF has very appealing CO2 capture properties: high uptake capacity; low regeneration energy; durability (>450 000 cycles) under steam and wet acid gases; simple and scalable synthesis. This study investigates the microwave (MW)-assisted synthesis of CALF-20, which reduces reaction time 12-fold while enhancing the synthesis yield to 97%. Structural analysis confirmed that MW-synthesized CALF-20 retains its crystallographic structure and shows improved CO2 capture performance, exhibiting higher adsorption capacity (∼20% higher), selectivity, and lower regeneration energy. This method provides a rapid and efficient alternative for producing the CALF-20 adsorbent for CO2 capture and separation applications.